Fuyuki City Civic Hall.
This enormous structure was still undergoing interior construction and had yet to be opened to the public. Within its grand hall, atop a large platform, Irisviel lay quietly.
This place was the focal point of Fuyuki City's leylines—where the Holy Grail would descend. There was no sign of Flan or Artoria. Only Yoru sat there alone, gently holding his wife's hand.
Yoru was waiting—waiting for those Servants and Masters who desired the Grail to come to him, one after another, so he could kill them and become the final victor who summoned the Grail.
Pity, mercy—those things were meaningless to him now. To obtain the Holy Grail, to save Irisviel, Yoru would stop at nothing.
With these thoughts, he turned to glance at the weakened Irisviel. As more Servants were defeated, the Lesser Grail neared completion. Irisviel herself was almost fully transparent—on the verge of vanishing.
"Am I… dying…?" Irisviel murmured to herself. She struggled to turn her head toward the silent Yoru and forced a pale smile.
"Do you have anything you want to say?" Yoru rested his head beside hers on the edge of the platform, lying down as if sleeping with her, and gazed at the glittering stars above, speaking absentmindedly.
"Ah… I just feel lucky, you know? To still be able to open my eyes at the very end, to see your face, to feel your presence, to have you here beside me," Irisviel whispered softly.
"As a homunculus—a puppet created as a vessel—I never had the right to decide my own life. I was just a tool for others to use." She raised one frail hand, gazing at its nearly transparent skin.
"To think I'm going to die like this… Even though I was prepared for it long ago, I still feel this strange unease… I still want… to see more of this world…"
"Goodness… crying again?"
With a playful scold, she reached out to wipe the tears from Yoru's eyes.
"Don't be sad… Yoru." Her pale hand gently caressed his cheek.
"Promise me you'll win the Holy Grail War. Make your wish with it. Then forget me… and return to the one you truly love."
Yoru didn't respond. He only tightened his grip on her hand.
He would never do such a thing. But Irisviel didn't seem to mind. She had already said everything she needed to say.
"The stars… they're beautiful tonight," she said softly, her eyes turning toward Yoru like a joyful little girl, just like Illya.
"Hey, did you know? Yoru… the first time I opened my eyes, the one I saw was Lord Jubstacheit von Einzbern. He showed me a photo and said, 'Starting today, this man will be your husband.'"
Yoru's grip unconsciously tightened.
"At that time, I didn't even understand what a husband was. Though I had the appearance of an adult, I was more like a little girl. So I started studying, learning what it meant to be a wife, preparing to become the wife of a man named Kiritsugu Emiya."
She chuckled.
"And then, like some divine prank of fate, you suddenly appeared. You had more power than Kiritsugu, and Lord Jubstacheit changed his mind so easily. I was made your wife instead."
"Of course, back then, I didn't really care. Whether it was Kiritsugu or a stranger like you, I was just a tool for the Einzbern to trade for power."
As she said this, Irisviel stuck out her tongue playfully. The adorable gesture only deepened the pain in Yoru's heart.
"Um… You're not mad, are you? The truth is, when we got married, I didn't even know what love was."
Yoru stayed silent. Irisviel continued to speak, more and more energetically, but he couldn't be happy. He knew this was just the final burst of life before death.
"But over time, things changed. You were so kind, always thinking of me, treating me—a homunculus—as the most precious thing in the world. Even though you were forced to marry me, even though someone else held your true love…"
"Maybe that's what they call growing affection over time?"
"Yes… growing affection."
Yoru couldn't help but laugh. But it was a laugh filled with sorrow.
"Oh stop it, Yoru! When did you start making such embarrassing jokes?"
Hearing the hidden meaning in his voice, Irisviel blushed. Her pale face was suddenly tinged with color, making her look even more captivating.
"I'm glad… I, who was made without emotions, was able to feel love… to understand what love really is."
As she said this, her once vibrant voice began to fade. The hand in Yoru's grasp turned limp. Her lively expression once again turned deathly pale. And then Irisviel quietly closed her eyes.
Silence blanketed the hall. Yoru lowered his head, face buried deep in the collar of his coat, hiding his expression. Only the sound of strained breathing could be heard.
Is this what sorrow is?
Perhaps…
This overwhelming emotion… a pain that seemed to tear the body apart.
Then, with a deafening crash, the doors of the civic hall were blown apart. A Servant in golden armor strolled in unhurriedly.
"Filthy mongrel… you made me search long and hard. So this is the grave you chose for yourself? Where's your Servant? Or do you intend to face me alone!?"
Archer stepped into the hall, his blood-red eyes brimming with cruelty as they locked onto Yoru, radiating an indescribable killing intent.
"It's time… to end this!"
Yoru slowly raised his head. His black eyes were now overlaid with a layer of icy blue, so cold they were impossible to look into.
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